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A controversy defused

All it takes sometimes to end a raging controversy is a resignation. In the face of an allegation of misbehaviour on a flight with a woman co-passenger, Kerala Public Works Minister P.J. Joseph resigned without making too much of a fuss. Inspector General of Police B. Sandhya, who investigated the allegation, neither exonerated nor indicted Mr. Joseph; she recommended further investigation into the complaint of Lakshmi Gopakumar, an actor. The Left Democratic Front Government chose not to stall demands for his resignation on the ground that the police investigation has found nothing conclusive. Prolonged debate over the propriety of Mr. Joseph continuing as Minister would only have diverted attention from key issues of governance, and the recently elected LDF dispensation sensibly decided to jettison the controversial Minister who heads the Kerala Congress and offer instead a ministerial berth to his party colleague, T.U. Kuruvilla. The unwritten understanding is that Mr. Joseph will return to the Cabinet if and when he gets his name cleared at the end of a full-fledged investigation. The Kerala Congress veteran, who claimed there was a conspiracy to force him out of the Cabinet and also out of the LDF, was initially reluctant to quit — on the reasoning that a person is innocent unless proved guilty. However, what may be a defining principle in the criminal justice system does not necessarily apply to politics and public life. Mr. Joseph was made to realise soon enough that the political costs of his continuance in the Cabinet would prove disproportionately high for both the Kerala Congress and the LDF.

Such swift, decisive action on a sexual harassment case involving a Minister would not have been possible without the high ground intervention of Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan. As leader of the opposition during the period of the United Democratic Front Government, Mr. Achuthanandan was a fierce campaigner when it came to cases of sexual exploitation. Although the latest complaint of misbehaviour pales in comparison with the ice-cream parlour case of sexual intimidation of a minor in which a UDF Minister was allegedly involved, the Kerala Chief Minister must have reckoned that any apparent dilution of a strong moral position would have damaged his own credibility. He certainly ensured there was no cover-up. Even though there was no complaint before the police, the Government initiated a quick probe into the episode, which contrasted with the dithering of the previous government under comparable or worse circumstances. Crucially, Mr. Achuthanandan managed to win the backing of the leaders of virtually all the constituents of the LDF on this sensitive issue. The people of Kerala, who have witnessed a series of cases of alleged sexual intimidation and exploitation, would have found this Chief Minister's handling of the tricky issue quite reassuring.

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